The Hunting Trip
by Cosmic Castaway
Summary: When Arthur Morgan and Sadie Adler go hunting to bring back food for the camp, they find out they are being hunted themselves and what was supposed to be an easy trip turns into a fight to survive.
1. Prologue

Summary: When Arthur Morgan and Sadie Adler go hunting to bring back food for the camp, they find out they are being hunted themselves and what was supposed to be an easy trip turns into a fight to survive.

Author Notes: So, for the longest time this was going to be John and Arthur, but as I started writing it Sadie decided she wasn't having it and wanted to be in this story. I still like to write another one for those two, I love those two especially the end of the game the brotherly love they showed one another. Kind of reminded me of Dean and Sam. Right now, I just can't think of anything that I could write for those two. Gah! However, this idea formed up in my head and I wrote the outline which is new for me, because all my others stories I winged it. Right now in that outline for the future chapters I'm really debating about going super dark, more so then I ever have in anything I've ever written, so possible context of rape and torture. What can I say I'm a sucker for super dark stories and I love reading them, I wish I had the ability to write a really good piece that dove into the depths of characterization but quite frankly I'm not that good, but I can always admire other writers that have the ability. However, I guess I can try my hand at something so this is your warning. I'll put more warnings future chapters so if you don't want to read it then I highly suggest skipping. With that in being said I'll keep it rated T and the rating will move up depending of future chapters and how I write it. In the end though depends on what y'all want, in the end though it will not be an easy ride for either one of them. Let's just hope y'all like it and want more.

Timeline: Will say somewhere around Horseshoe Overlook.

Ownership: I own none of these characters Rockstar does, but if I did I'd be making deals to have these characters written in books and in movies and graphic novels!

If you see any mistakes, (waves hand in front of your face) these are not the mistakes you are looking for. Enjoy!

Prologue

Arthur Morgan moved through the camp. He walked by a few of the camp members, giving them a slight nod but kept his face hardened. Trying to project to others that he was not to be bothered at the moment. It was not that he didn't want to talk to any them, it was just he was on a mission and didn't want to be bothered with small talk or tasks. "Arthur we need food," "Arthur we need more ammo," or even better "Arthur Micha is harassing me." Since Dutch was their commander, that made Arthur their first lieutenant. He was the muscle, he made things happen when things needed to get done. Jobs nobody wanted to do but Arthur was loyal to a fault so if Dutch couldn't be bothered or was nowhere in sight to do the task at hand, then maybe Arthur would do something about whatever their problem was for that day. Just some days he was simply not in the mood to deal with it and today was one of those days.

"Arthur," he heard his name being called. He tried to suppress the eye roll and he found he quickened his pace to try and make his urgency known to the camp member who was beckoning him. "Arthur I need your help."

"Not now Susan, can you get somebody else? I'm looking for John."

"John's not here," he heard another camp member's voice. A very distinct voice belonging to Sadie Adler. Her voice was like no other woman's voice he had ever heard before. Thinking back to that fateful day when they had met her and took her from her burning home that Micha Bell had started, her voice had changed over the course of time. Getting a little rougher around the edges, trying to fit in a man's world that at the moment did not want women to have feelings or a thought in their head. Their job was to be dainty creatures, make babies and gossip about whatever women gossip about. They were in a man's world chalk full of man's rules, well depending on what part of the country you were in. It was kind of nice to see a woman go against the grain of the average woman. Maybe that's why he fell so hard for Mary at the time, she was complete polar opposite of him. She was soft while he was hard, she was delicate where he was truly rough around the edges. She would never hurt a fly and well, he killed and maimed and robbed anyone who stood in his path. However, there was just something about Sadie Adler that Arthur just liked and admired. Her ability to carry herself and not shy from anything or anyone.

"You know where he is by chance," his eyes looking around seeing if Charles Smith was around if John Marston could not be found.

"I think Charles, John and Javier went to town. Why?" Sadie Adler her curiosity piquing. She knew it had to be a job or least Arthur was looking for a male counterpart to help him with something. She wanted to help, she felt like anyone else in the camp she had to prove herself time and time again to show she deserved to be there and she was not like the other women of the camp. Not that anything was wrong with them, just not what she wanted for herself. She was slowly liking the gang, trusting them and feeling comfortable with the idea of being with something much bigger then herself and or being completely alone. To have a gang of people around you, it was easier not to be taken advantage of and have the same outcome as what happened to her the night Jake was killed. She just needed Arthur and the gang to come to her when they needed an extra hand and to think of her instead of only using her as a last resort. Most of the time they would seek the other male counterpart out before they ever even asked her. She had to practically beg to be taken on missions. She knew she could hold her own, she just needed to be able to prove it to them.

"No reason, I can wait." Arthur turning around debating if he should just go and do it alone. Not like he needed anyone with him but sometimes he just did not want to be by himself and apparently it was one of those trips he wanted company. He heard Sadie jump down from the wagon and started following him like a little lost puppy.

"Come on Arthur what is it? I can help, I can do whatever you want me to do, just let me help!"

Arthur turned back around to see Sadie Adler practically begging with her eyes. Never being able to resist a woman begging and not to mention all the women knew they had Arthur wrapped around their tiny pinkie all they had to do was ask and bat their pretty little eyelashes at him and he was putty in their hands. That is why he so desperately tried to get away from Susan because if he talked to her long enough he would have done whatever she wanted him to do and it would have completely changed his plans from his original task at hand.

"Fine, fine. All I'm going to do is go hunting up near Annesburg. They have some elk up there that could feed this camp for months. Now, you don't have to come," before he could finish the rest of the sentence Sadie Adler was walking away.

"Great I'll go get my gear!" Not even giving him a chance to change his mind or try and talk her out of it.

Arthur Morgan looked up to the sky and breathed out slowly. "Guess will see how this goes," he muttered out loud. Shrugging his shoulders, he turned to go make sure he had everything for gear wise for the trip. He had no idea how true that statement was going to be, and if he had known what was to come to pass he would have never asked Sadie to join him let alone leave the camp ever again.

TBC..

Chapters will be bigger I promise, just a small prologue. Hope everybody enjoy the Holidays and stays safe I'll post Chapter 1 sometime soon!


	2. Chapter 1 - The Hunters are being Hunted

Author Notes: Thank you for the feedback for such a small ass prologue! Here is your first chapter. I can't promise you every chapter will be super long but it will always be at least in the 2,000 if not 3,000 mark I believe hope that is long enough. I know myself I love HUGE ass chapters but I just can't seem to be one of those that writes huge fuller gapping stories. I'm working on it! Anyways hope everybody had a wonderful holiday and hope y'all have a wonderful New Years!

If you see any mistakes I'm sorry I read this chapter like fifty damn times to the point I'm sick of it lol so if you see anything, I'm sorry!

Also of course do not own any of the characters…there not my own!

Chapter 1 – The Hunters are being Hunted

The ground they covered had been a lot quicker then Arthur had ever anticipated but nightfall was starting to creep into the land and the horses could use a rest. He brought his horse to a full stop pulling on the reins gently so not to hurt his horse and called to Sadie who was not far behind him. "Let's stop here for the night. My horse could use a break and not to mention I have to piss like one."

"You're the boss." Sadie stopped her horse and patted him on the neck. She then dropped down from the saddle and grabbed the supplies. Arthur ran off into the wood line disappearing for a few moments and then returning rearranging himself as he did.

"You want to cook, and I set up the tents while we still have some daylight left." It was more of a statement then a question, not really asking but directing her.

"Why because I'm the woman?" Her eyes shot back defensively at Arthur crossing her arms. The arguments she had with Pearson over cooking and cleaning came to mind quickly. She would not be treated as some woman that was a dainty creature. She didn't come on this trip just to be treated as such. Suggesting she cooked sparked a defiance in her and all she could think about was the comments Pearson had made towards her since she got to camp.

"Maybe because you don't know how to set a tent up and I do and plus you cook better than I do. Anything else?" Arthur challenging her. He didn't want this to turn into a battle of sexists or them fighting the entire trip. He wanted it to be a simple hunting trip, peaceful and quiet as can be with no trouble, probably why he went looking for Charles and John instead of Sadie not that Sadie brought problems she just was always on edge with every comment you made towards her. It was going to take time for her to settle down and realize not everything was directed at her or them being chauvinistic towards her, except for Pearson he was just a fool. He also knew it was her way of trying to earn her keep that she deserved to be there, but he didn't want to keep having this conversation every time something came up. They had an unspoken rank structure within their camp and everyone seem to understand it except her. He was the next in line to Dutch, and right now she was probably one step up from Kieran Duffy and that's only because he was a former O'Driscoll regardless of what he said and claimed not to be.

"Fine," crossing her arms knowing she had been defeated, "however can you teach me how to set up a tent, so I know in the future?"

Arthur couldn't argue with that. "Fine," he repeated back, "But first cook my food woman." He said the last part as a joke which earned a small smile from Sadie. Which he was thankful for being the fact she could have taken it the wrong way and that would have started a whole new argument, which if that had been the case Arthur would have just walked off. "I'm going to go look for some wood to make our tents out of." Not waiting for any further discussion, he trailed off into the forest. He didn't realize how far had wandered till he heard voices off in the distance. At first he was not being utterly cautious of his noise making as he traipsed through the area, not minding his steps but the minute he heard somebody was nearby he started being careful how he stepped to make to no little sound as he got closer to see who else could be so close to their very campsite.

"He'll be hard to bring in," Arthur heard one male speaking, and as he got closer he was able to get a better understanding who the voices belonged to, "but can you imagine being the fabled bounty hunters that brought in the notorious Arthur Morgan."

Arthur felt a little pride when he said that last part, so he was "notorious," didn't think he had gotten that notoriety yet but he'd accept it.

"He's one of the best shooters or so I've been told so we have to have the element of surprise," another ego stroke for Arthur. He nodded his head listening to these men talk him up.

"Yeah well, I also heard he's dumber than a box of rocks, so it shouldn't be that hard to capture him." Arthur frowned at that and practically rolled his eyes. Everyone always seem to mistake him for this big dumb brute but honestly, he was smarter then he allowed others to believe, so it worked to his advantage when he was able to outsmart and out play those around him.

"Well I guess I have to be a dumber than a box of rocks sees as I stumbled onto you boys." The bounty hunters turned around startled. Arthur had positioned himself, so he was leaning up against the tree with his hat tilted so you couldn't read his eyes and one leg crossed over the other with his arms crossed chewing on a piece of tall grass.

The three men jumped up from their position not expecting the famous Arthur Morgan to be gracing them with his presence.

"That bounty your looking for, hate to break it to you you'll be going empty handed."

One man reached for his weapon and quicker than anyone could even blink Arthur was standing with weapon drawled and cocked back ready to fire. "Now see as I'm the one with the gun on you, best be taken your hand off that shotgun." The man who had been reaching let go of his Winchester rifle and showed his hands were free of any firearms.

"Now what to do with you boys."

"Don't kill us please!" One practically cried and begged which Arthur couldn't help but smile at that. Show your cards already that you are weak at the sight of the gun, this is to easy.

"I'm not gonna kill yeah, maybe humiliate you."

"What do you mean?"

"Take off your clothes." Looking them up and down and waving his pistol in a small motion to emphasis what he was saying.

The men looked and glanced at one another not sure why such a request was being given by Arthur Morgan. "I'm not going to repeat myself a second-time gentlemen." Moving closer to them and drawing his secondary pistol while cocking back the lever.

Taking the threat for what it was the men slowly got undressed until they barefooted and wearing nothing but their skivvies. "Throw your clothes over here, come on, quickly I don't have all god damn day." Each man brought their clothes over in front of Arthur and dumped them, he in return watched each and every movement they made just to make sure they didn't get wise or quick with him.

"Now, go get your horses." The men started to question such a statement when Arthur shot near one of the horses. Instantly the horses whinnied in protest rearing its ears backs showing its distaste of the events that just transpired. The horses getting spoked ran into each other practically trampling the men in the process began running in different directions as the men hollered and yelled after them. Arthur began laughing and holstered his weapons. He grabbed up the bundle of clothes and making sure he was not followed went back to their campsite.

When Sadie saw Arthur come through the wood line once more she was surprised to see him carrying a bunch of clothes with him. The question was written all over her face.

"Arthur why do you have a bunch of clothes?"

* * *

Laughter could be heard between the make shift camp as Sadie and Arthur laughed over what Arthur had done only a mere few hours ago. Arthur hit his knee as he held the other plate in his hand. "They were running scared, like scared little pussy cats. If they had tails they would have been big."

"I do have to ask, where did you get the idea to take their clothes?" Sadie's laughter subsiding as she looked at the pile they were using to burn with.

"I don't know, came to me. Just thought it be funny I guess." Arthur gave a lopsided smile which made Sadie break into laughter even harder by the tone of his voice and just the look on his face.

Sadie grabbed her stomach from holding it as she calmed her laughing bug she nodded to Arthur, "thank you Arthur I haven't laughed like that, well not since after.." she dropped the last bit not wanting to bring up Jake. It would easily shift the mood from happiness to dark really quick and that's not something she was aiming to do at the moment.

"No problem Mrs. Adler, also great meal." Finishing off the last bit of food he had left in his plate and he let out a small burp hiding it behind a hand, "I do say I'll take your cooking over that shit Pearson claims to be stew, that he always claims kept him in alive in the Navy. Shit, if that's how bad the chow is don't sign me up for that shit."

"Thank you, Morgan."

"Arthur, call me Arthur. You sound like a school teacher with that last name thing. Or that's what I assume a school teacher would sound like."

"You never went to school Arthur?" Not surprising given the time they live in. Not everybody was so lucky to get an education.

"Nahh my Momma was teaching me a little before she passed, and well can't say much about Lyle Morgan." Sadie did not press further with the topic, but she was curious as to how Arthur's life was before Dutch found him. She had to piece by piece from the information she had gathered from the other camp members. But with a man like Arthur he wasn't going to tell his life story to anyone it would take time and trust.

"What about you Mrs. Adler?" Asking her about her education.

"Sadie, call me Sadie or I'll keep calling you Morgan."

"Fair enough."

Sadie smiled and was about to respond to Arthur's questions when voices could be heard off in the distance. As they got closer Arthur stood up. Anyone that knew Arthur well enough could see how he squared his shoulders back and something came over the man when he was ready for a fight. The man turned into something completely different. When Arthur was around people he knew he dropped his guard and turned into this gentle being, but that all could change at the drop of a hat. It was like knowing two different Arthur's.

"I see light over there." A familiar voice reached through the woods and Arthur immediately recognized the voice of one of the bounty hunters.

"These boys don't know when to quit." Pulling his weapon out of its holster.

"Hide in the tent." Turning around bewildered on Sadie, not liking the idea of him cowering away.

"What?"

"Hide in the tent. There not looking for me, I'll think of something but just hide."

Arthur turned and Sadie for half a second believed Arthur was not going to listen to her but instead he let out a frustrated growl and went into the tent pushing past the flaps, so you could not see in. She saw the clothes of the bounty hunters she quickly ran to them gathered them up and threw them into the tent not carrying how they landed. She spun around to collect herself and not look so flustered as they finally made the clearing and walked right up on her. She grabbed the rifle that was resting near the camp fire and held it low but still at the ready just in case.

"Hello their young miss. We mean you no harm. Hate to bother you so late in the evening but we are looking for a male in his thirties may have passed him on the road, possibly carrying some ummm…" looking at the men behind him, "our clothes."

"No gentlemen I'm surely certain I would have noticed that if I had seen him."

"Be careful a woman out here in these woods all alone, should be more careful especially with Arthur Morgan running around out here."

"Who? Besides I have my husband who is in the tent," when one of the men stepped closer as though they wanted to look in she positioned herself and moved the weapon up to show she was not in any business of being messed with, "but he is very ill with the flu and I just got him down so you best be on your way before you wake him. He's meaner than a rattle snake when he gets awaken for no reason. Good luck finding your clothes, and this man, Arthur Morgan."

The men said nothing else to her just nodded their heads as though their hats were still on their heads and said Ma'am to her as they slowly walked away seeing the conversation was going to go no further with her. Once she felt it was safe and Sadie waited for a good few minutes before she finally let her guard down. "Close is clear," Arthur then stepped out of the tent with the remaining of the clothes and throwing them on the fire to burn them and be rid of any evidence.

"Could have pretended you know who I was." Arthur looking at the flames of the fire and watched the clothes slowly disintegrate in front of their eyes.

"Why, so you could hear them talk you up and boost that ego of yours, no thank you. I'm going to bed this has been a little too much excitement and we aren't even near Annesburg yet. You going to bed too?"

Arthur nodded his head. "Yeah in a few, think I may write in my journal for a few."

Sadie went into her tent and settled down for the evening. She could hear the crackling of the fire as it dwindled down. She woke up when she heard Arthur shuffle to bed. She had a hard time going back to sleep after that just lying there and thinking about Jake. Her mind drifted to him, the images of him proposing to her, their wedding day, images flashing though her head quickly before she could stop them. A single tear left her eye and she quickly brushed it away and rolled to a different side. She decided to try and not think of him and trying to leave her mind blank she soon fell back to sleep. Luckily before Arthur started snoring in his sleep and waking up the dead.

The morning summer sun was beginning to rise into the sky casting a shadow against the trees. Rain had moved in sending a slight chill into the air from the previous night, however as the sun rose further into the sky it brought a warmth to the land and penetrated the dense forest. For the two outlaws this kind of weather they were use too. As long as it was not the blistering cold they had to deal with in the Grizzly Mountains a little rain hurt nobody. Besides it made animals much easier to track in.

After the close call from the bounty hunters early on in to the trip, Arthur and Sadie had been rather quiet as they rode the trail passing random strangers on the road. Both not sure how to start the conversation up again as both were lost in their own thoughts about things happening either in their lives or what was going on back in the camp. Arthur's thoughts kept circling around to Mary and no matter how much he tried to stop that line of thinking he couldn't help it. Oh how he missed her, her smile to her simple touch on his forearm. She had a way of melting his heart and seeing past his rough exterior that no one else seemed able too. Yet in a lot of ways she didn't understand him, why he choose this life and why he couldn't up and leave. He couldn't leave his family when they needed him the most. What kind of man would he be if he abandoned them now? He might as well be called the same man as his father. He'd be damned if that was the case. Then those thoughts would turn into about Isaac and Eliza and that was a path of self-loathing that would make his mood much more grumpier and harder to be around if he allowed his mind to drift into those memories.

Looking over at Sadie he could see she was lost in thought. He truly felt bad for her at times when she saw the hurt behind her eyes knowing she was thinking of her husband and the events that lead to that faithful night. He felt bad for her because she truly had a chance at a good life, having kids and dying of old age with her faithful husband by her side. But life was cruel bitch that did not care how happy you were, it had the ability to take a hold of you and dump you in the mud and leave you to either pick yourself back up or die there lying on the ground. Thing about Sadie was she was a survivor and she was going to keep surviving until her very last breath. Arthur Morgan could respect a lady like that. Turning his eyes back to the road and his mind once again trailed onto Mary. If only Mary was a little like Sadie, things may have worked out between them after all.

Sadie had caught Arthur glancing over at her and she almost responded with something nasty. It was defense it was habit she always felt she had to prove herself to the gang always letting them know she was fully capable of handling herself. That she could be more than just one of the women who sat around the camp doing daily chores. No, she could hunt, she could shoot she would rob if necessary to survive. Yet she still somehow felt they looked at her as though she was going to break. That any minute she was going to shoot them or shoot herself in hysteria. Biting back what she wanted to say she wondered what Arthur was thinking. Out of all the men in the camp he was one of the hardest men to read and if not complex. Arthur had this ability to appear as though he didn't understand or even act stupid at times, he was their muscle, Dutch's right hand man. He was always called upon when every there was need to do some dirty work and they knew Arthur would get it done. Yet, behind those blue eyes there was something deeper. The small glances he would give when somebody would say something, to even the subtle pull of a smile on his stoic face. It was like he was hiding something gentler behind that rough exterior, not allowing anyone to see it for fear of being either hurt or run over by somebody like Micha.

Sadie's mind shifted to that man. Now that was a man that rubbed her the wrong way. There was just something she could not put her finger on it, but she could not stand that man. Every time she saw the man everything in her body told her to stay away from him, and if anything, she ever been taught you do not go against your gut instinct. However, it's not like she could go to Dutch or anyone for that matter. She was the lowest on the totem pole, she didn't have a lot of pull yet with the gang so she would just have to keep her distance. She knew Arthur and Micha never saw eye to eye and the entire camp saw it and knew it. Neither one would stand next to each other, when one had to talk to each other it was either jabs with words or glares would be given to one another. Sadie hoped that maybe Micha would just grow tired of them and either wander off and never return or somehow get himself killed off mouthing off to the wrong person, somebody like Arthur.

Arthur cleared his throat and bringing Sadie out of her thoughts. "Let's stop here. We can leave the horses here. Be better to go on foot, so the animals won't hear us coming." Sadie looked at Arthur as he got off his horse. She hated to leave her horse anywhere where someone could find him. But, Arthur was right the sound of the horse hoofs and even the horse making normal sounds could spoke any game they were trying to hunt. Swinging off the horse she then proceed to grab the weapon from her saddle and walked over to Arthur. She caught him speaking to his horse, and gently petting the side of the neck. It was a side of Arthur that no one rarely sees. He could intimidate people with his stature, bully people, be a downright scary dude. Yet, there was something gentle and caring behind his hand as he talked to his horse. It warmed her heart in a way she never thought was possible, bringing a small smile to her lips.

Arthur had not realized Sadie was ready and giving his horse one gentler pat he then started walking with Sadie close behind. He had been so hesitant to bring her along. Not sure why either. She was not bad company. Maybe he was just use to riding with male counterparts and not women. Most women would never be caught dead trying to hunt for their own food, that was the male's role. To provide for their families amongst other things. Yet, Sadie was different.

"You really like animals don't you Arthur?"

"I think I understand them more than I understand people. There just like you and I," Looking over "out to survive the cruel world of life. There just not boggled down with emotions and feelings, they go off pure instinct and I can admire that."

"You're an interesting man you know that." Sadie said. She closed her eyes for a split second internally winced, not sure what possessed herself to even say that. She didn't know Arthur well enough to be making such a statement, or maybe that's what she felt like. She turned to read his facial expression any body language and the look was definite surprise by the accusation.

"Now why would you say that Sadie?" Curious as to where this line of thought was going in regard to him the way he was as a man. He stopped what he was doing to look at her.

Sadie swallowed trying to think of the right words so as not to stutter over them and look like a damn fool. In a lot of respects, she admired Arthur out of the entire group, she never admit that to anyone hell even admitting it to herself was hard. At times Arthur did not seem right for the group. A man who should have left a completely different life that for having such a shitty start on life, he was really a gentle person. If he had just a different upbringing he may had stood a chance and been a different man, a man that he was supposed to be.

"I don't know…just seen you the way you are with Jack and your horse. Just think there more under that tough exterior. You may act stupid Arthur Morgan, but I think you are a much smarter man then you like to have everyone think."

"Now Sadie Adler I can't have you ruining my reputation," proceeding to walk again and looking down looking for tracks in the soft mud. He kneeled down and brushed his hand over a few leaf's that was hiding some tracks. "Besides if I'm so nice, I wouldn't beat men for money or have even killed." Standing up and turning around and giving an arch eyebrow underneath his hat.

Sadie Adler shot back her own look of not impressed. "You don't kill just to kill. If you and Dutch had found me and Jakey instead of the O'Driscoll,…well I wouldn't be a widower talking to you."

Arthur Morgan stayed silent taking in what she had said. He never thought himself a good man, had even said it a few times to individuals among the camp. There were days he felt he wasn't living the life he was destined to be living. That he could do more with it. He always thought about what it would like to be a family and be a good man to a woman and child to leave this life and never look back. He hadn't told anyone, but he was starting to get the itch, if he got the money he probably would escape and go find a quiet life near the mountains, to watch the sunsets crest over the mountain and maybe even start a family, but first he had to take care of a few things before that dream could become reality.

She watched as he would squat down look down at the trail then get back up. For a nice stature of a man he sure moved quietly through the woods barely making much sound so not to spook the animals if there were any around. Sadie lost track of time till Arthur let out a frustrated groan. She had watched him study the ground for a few seconds and then stand back up suddenly and started moving back the way they had come.

"I think we been away from the horses long enough, say we head back to them and make camp and try our luck again tomorrow."

"What is it?"

"There is a lot of traffic on the ground, human, and I don't trust that there not more bounty hunters in the area. Might make our way a little more north west. Have better luck up that way."

Sadie trusted Arthur and his judgement call. He'd been doing this a hell of a lot longer then she had. Arthur's step had quickened, and it didn't take a rocket scientist or someone who hadn't been around the man to know something had him spooked. His rifle was no longer in one hand but in both ready to bring up if needed be and he was constantly watching the wood line, always glancing either to his right or left and sometimes he would look behind them checking to see if anything was following them. It wasn't till they reached where they left the horses that Sadie heard Arthur lose his cool.

"Oh son of a bitch!"

Sadie was able to look past and find the horses were missing. She looked around as though they would appear in front of her, but it was obvious somebody had led them away from their original spot. Arthur walked around looking for any sign of which way they went. He let out a slow breath and looked up Sadie, "well whoever it is, they wanted us on foot."

TBC….

Love to hear from yeah. Gets the muses flowing!


	3. Chapter 2 - A Stranger in the Woods

Author Notes: Hello! Hope everybody had a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Years! I wanted this chapter to be a little longer but just didn't seem to work out that way but hey I don't think you'll complain either way. As always, thank you so much for the continue support of this story and the reviews I've received! Well, no reason to keep chatting it up, here you go! Enjoy!

Chapter 2 – **A Stranger in the Woods**

"What do we do now Arthur?" Sadie looking to Arthur whose eyes were still looking down at the ground. His eyes were going back and forth either searching for where the horses had been led off to, or he was thinking on their next move, there was no telling what was going on in that mind of his.

"Well," Arthur finally glancing back up from the spot he had fixated on, "we can head in to town, either buy us some horses to get back to camp or steal them whatever comes first but town is that way," nodding his head in the direction on which way to go. Arthur began to move towards the woods but stopped and turned when he could not hear Sadie following him.

"You comin' or you going to stand here and hope the horses magically appear out of thin air?" Arthur saying sarcastically while throwing his hands out.

"No, just the trail is back that way." Sadie still not convinced, pointing her finger back towards the trail.

"Yes, but it will be faster if we cut through the woods."

"I don't know Arthur, something tells me to stick to the trail." Sadie crossed her arms.

Arthur stepped towards her, "come on Sadie," smiling and saying in his smooth accent, certain words just hanging and him drawing them out, "it will be an adventure. Unless you scared or something, I mean, you didn't seem the type, but you can tell ole Arthur. Besides, you'll have me to protect you."

Sadie rolled her eyes, she could not believe Arthur had stooped so low she uncrossed her arms and started walking towards the way Arthur wanted to go. "I'm not scared, and I don't need no man to protect me, just have a bad feeling that's all. If we die I'm haunting you."

"Whatever you say m'lady." Arthur's smile widening knowing he had gotten to her, having the ability to push her buttons already.

Sadie tried to settle the fluttering that was going on in her stomach at the moment. The pair had been walking for a short time without any words to distract them from the time and or get her mind off the unsettling feeling that she could not shake for the life of her. She hated going against her gut and she hated that Arthur had found a way to make her do exactly what he wanted. She knew she had to do a much better job of not allowing him to win those small arguments with her. She should have made a scene about staying on the trail, but she had a feeling somehow Arthur would have pulled rank on her or hell even leaving her to stand there because he was definitely the type to do so either way she would have just ended up looking like a bigger fool. Still, she just hated they were in the woods without any of their gear now or their horses and it would only be a matter of time before it started getting dark and who was to say they would make it to town in time before nightfall. Though she trusted Arthur to find the way, what if he didn't and they were stuck out there in the wilderness? Sadie calmed herself down taking in deep breaths trying to calm her nerves and stop thinking the worst was going to happen. Then again who could have taken their horses? What for? Was it horse thieves looking to make a buck? Was it something much more sinister? Then again, they may never find out.

"I don't think it was bounty hunters that took our horses." Arthur finally breaking the silence between the two and reading her mind.

"Why you think that?" Sadie asking, curious as to what would bring him to this conclusion.

"It's not their style. Bounty hunters tend to just look for the bounty, not trying to be sneaky. They tend to be very straight forward men looking for their next take."

"I'm just surprised you are not hell bent on finding them horses. I thought you'd go tearing into the woods looking for who took them."

Arthur let out a chuckle. "I am too. I loved that damn horse and if I ever find the fool that took him," he stopped himself before he thought about it too much longer, "just I've heard stories about the men in these parts. There not right and quite frankly I don't want to get tangled up in a mess with you here."

"Why Arthur Morgan, my hero."

Arthur turned to Sadie knowing she was being sarcastic, "I'm not kiddin. The stories I heard they are not right in their head. Not folk we want to be messin' with."

"Just surprised. Big bad outlaw Arthur Morgan spooked by some camp fire stories."

Arthur just shook his head. He knew Sadie was just trying to get under his skin and needle him into a response. He just didn't want to take the bait and he had a feeling Sadie had never heard about the people in this area. Now actually giving it some thought Arthur kind of felt bad not at least telling Sadie, giving her a chance at least to make up her own mind on whether to come or not. She had a right to know that a lot of people disappeared up in this area and most were never seen or heard from again. Then again, Arthur pretty much guessed that even if he had warned her she would have still wanted to come just to get out of the camp and away from the other females. Sadie did not mingle with the other women very well, then again Sadie Adler was not like most women he had met. Then Sadie pulled him from his line of thoughts as she spoke.

"Hey look, a house. Maybe we should stop and ask for directions." Sadie suggesting.

"No." Arthur was not going to ask for directions. He knew which way he was going, and he'd be damned if somebody told him otherwise.

"Come on Arthur, won't hurt to ask. Hell, they might not be even home." Sadie started walking towards the house with Arthur not close enough to grab her to stop her.

"Sadie." Growing her name under his breath, not happy with the idea of knocking on a complete stranger's door late in the day.

She ran up to the porch and knocked on the door and waited listening to hear if anybody came to the door. She turned back around to look at Arthur and shrug. "Guess nobody is home."

"Whatcha want?!" A man showed up pointing a shotgun at them from the side of the house. Both turned quickly, and Sadie put her hands up to show the individual they meant no harm. Arthur however was not showing the same kind of vulnerability and his hand hovered over his pistol next to his hip.

"Sorry to disturb you Sir, we were just hoping you could give us directions to town." Sadie spoke up, knowing out of the two Sadie was the most level headed, well, at least when it came to people who were not O'Driscoll.

The man seemed to take in Sadie looking her up and down and slowly his eyes shifted to Arthur taking in his appearance and it did not go unnoticed to Arthur of the man looking at his gun hand before his eyes shifted back to Sadie.

"Oh yea. Why you walking? Don't seem like you're from around here."

"Somebody stole our horses so we need to get back to town."

Arthur winced internally but still kept a neutral face when he heard Sadie spoke. Just tell your life story Sadie. She owed this man nothing, she didn't have to be kind to him. Arthur was through with this and the man seemed to want to know too much information and asking too much from them without giving them anything in return. Slowly putting his hands up to show he was not going to shoot the man right there on his property Arthur spoke up finally, "Look we mean you no harm. We will just leave now. Thank you for your time mister." Arthur then looked back at Sadie nodding his head for her to take his lead and come down from the porch and leave while they still could.

The man continued to study them both and slowly he lowered the gun and gave a toothy smile. "We don't get a lot of people around here, can't be too careful, you know we got a lot em weirdos running up around here. Where are my manners, you wanna come in? I can cook you something nice, be great to have company."

"No." Arthur said quickly before Sadie took his invitation, Arthur slowly began stepping cautiously towards Sadie. "We best be going, we appreciate the offer, but we need to make it to town before nightfall. Let's go Abigail." Arthur looking directly at Sadie when he said her name wrong, hoping she would catch that he was not comfortable with this stranger and was ready to leave.

"Oh..," Sadie said at first not catching why he had called her Abigail and then it dawned on her what he was doing, "oh! Yes, okay Micah, you are right."

It took everything in Arthur not to pull a face with Sadie's name picking. Of all the names, that was the one she decided on. She could have gone with Sean, hell even Kieran was better than fucking Micah. But he kept his poker face on, knowing by making a face doing so would give away something was up between the two. As Sadie moved off the porch to get closer to Arthur the man continued to watch intently.

"Well, if you need to get to town. Fastest way is that way," pointing in the complete opposite direction they had been going. Which Arthur found odd. He was starting to feel a little lost since losing the horses but to be going the wrong way entirely that did not feel right. The man still continued to talk, "again you sure you're not hungry? I have plenty of food. Be nice to have guests over for a change. I don't get a lot of visitors up this way."

"I can see why," Arthur mumbled.

"Thank you mister, but we best be going." Sadie not wanting to linger any longer got off the porch and both began walking away. They could feel the eyes of the man on them. They could not shake the creepy feeling and neither one talked until they were completely out of earshot.

"So, are we not going to listen to him?" Sadie finally the one that couldn't stand the silence any longer after having that weird encounter.

Arthur turned and looked at her like she had gained three heads and turned back to gaze forward, "No, besides don't talk to me for another hour. You called me Micah. That was low even for you. I've shot men for less."

"Arthur," no response, Sadie looked over at him and the complete and utter scowl on his face was prevalent. She hadn't seen that face on him for some time, "I'm sorry." That seemed to get no response from him. She couldn't help but smile slightly, Arthur could be such a little kid sometimes. Not to mention she just found one of his buttons she knew she could push. Though she had to be careful about using that one to many times. He may stop talking to her all together if she used it to many times. But it was nice to know she had something on Arthur now, and it wasn't just him holding all the cards.

True to his word it was about an hour before Arthur spoke up.

"It's going to be getting dark soon. We might want to make camp before it's gets too dark to see where we are stepping."

Sadie agreed but she also found the urge not wanting to stop creeping up like a slow chill in the air. The idea of being out there in the wilderness without their gear, made her feel a vulnerability she did not think was possible. She wanted nothing more than to find this town, so they could call it and head back home. It was funny, she called the camp home. She didn't think she would settle in so quickly and call their little makeshift camp home but in a weird way, it was and she was beginning to miss it.

"Can we walk a little further?" Sadie finally spoke hoping to keep going just a little longer.

Arthur who was walking a few feet in front of her with his gruff voice, "fine."

Sadie's shoulders relaxed not realizing how truly tense she was. She stopped and turned to listen. Listen for whoever maybe following them or maybe there was nobody out there at all and she was hearing things, imagining things being there. She blinked her eyes quickly when she thought she saw something, but she then felt rather silly when she realized it was her mind beginning to play tricks, she realized she was seeing was the sun filter through the trees, the light playing with her very eyes. She turned back around not realizing how far Arthur had gotten from her. She quickened her step to try and close the distance.

As for Arthur he had been lost in thought. He was the opposite of Sadie, not tense but not relaxed either. He was on alert, listening and or looking for anything that was out of place when it came to where they were. Not only did they have to contend with somebody stealing their horses, they had to worry about those damn bounty hunters showing back up. On top of the stranger in the woods they had just run into. For whatever reason that man had set him on edge. Everything in him was telling him to get the hell away from that area. They should have never bugged that man in the first place. Arthur was really starting to regret even coming on this hunting trip in the first place. He should have stuck locally, but here he thought he was doing them a favor by going outside the area trying to hunt bigger game. Then again, it was done and there was nothing they could do about it now. The only thing now was to get back to camp in one piece. Besides, Arthur had dealt with lot worse and much more dire situations, this was nothing. 'What was the worst that could happen?' Arthur thought, putting his foot down he realized something did not feel like the forest floor.

It took 0.2 seconds for Arthur Morgan to register in his brain what he put his foot in before it closed in place. Arthur Morgan had no chance in hell unless he had cat like reflexes to be able to avoid the inevitable. The bear trap was meant to be quick and its effectiveness was precise as it slammed shut right on top of Arthur Morgan's foot. He didn't even have a chance to even yell before his body reacted to the sudden trauma and shock of what had happened to it as every sensor in his leg triggered and ran up his leg alerting him of the damage that just transpired. His body collapsed as he dropped his weapon next to him and he tried to reach shaky hands to where his ankle was trapped. He was doing everything to stifle the scream that wanted nothing more to burst from his throat and out his mouth but all that came out was small whimpers of agony. He bit his lip and did not realize how hard he was biting into it till he felt blood in his mouth from trying to pry open the steel trap. He could see blood began to seep from his pants where the trap was pinning his leg with its sharp pointy metal teeth.

He looked up with pain in his eyes completely forgetting Sadie was even there. He didn't even hear her call his name from the blood rushing in his ears. As he collected his senses from the shock of stepping in a bear trap he suddenly saw the rope laying out before him. She never saw it, and before he could even utter a word of warning towards her, the trap was sprung and all he could do was watch in horror as she was flung through the air.

Sadie Adler smaller legs were striding it out trying to catch up to Arthur when one second, he was walking the next his leg was pinned in a horrible bear trap. She watched as he fell to the ground grabbing and clutching at his leg trying to pry the horrible contraption off him. After the initial shock wore off she rushed to him however her world was turned upside down in the matter of seconds and her rescue was short lived. One second, she was near Arthur and the next she was being flung through the air upwards to the sky. She didn't even have time to scream as she lost the grip on her weapon and it went flying in a direction she had no idea where. A cry did leave her lips when she came crashing back down with gravity with all her weight down on her ankle. She felt the pull but thankfully no snap or break. Sadie's world slowly came back into focus as she tried to catch her bearings but as the world turned completely upside down all she could do was allow her body to slowly swing as she listened to Arthur grunt in pain as he tried unsuccessfully to try and get his leg out of the trap and all Sadie could think was 'well, shit.'

TBC….

Can't tell you how much hearing from you inspires my muse! Thanks again guys, till next time!


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